


H.E.L.D

by DaniJayNel



Series: 100 YumiKuri Stories [97]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Ackerman twins, F/F, female!levi, short fic, superhero au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-12
Updated: 2016-09-22
Packaged: 2018-06-08 01:46:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6833764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaniJayNel/pseuds/DaniJayNel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Historia didn't expect to be attacked by a cult and then recruited by a secret organization all in one morning. Historia also didn't expect to be a meta-human, but there she was, and the world simply wouldn't let her forget it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> what
> 
> what another story but the poll isn't over yet
> 
> I don't even know what this is but it is and here I am and here is the first chapter. Enjoy

Hanji hummed happily to herself as she made her way from the parking lot to the building directly in front of her. The donut in her mouth was still warm, her coffee smelt divine and she had woken up on the better side of the bed that morning—even though her lover, Petra, had already left for work. It was going to be an awesome day, if Hanji’s increasingly good mood was anything to go by.

Still humming and chewing, Hanji pushed past the double doors and walked by reception, lifting the proof of identification that hung on a lanyard at her neck. The security guard at the post sent her a nervous smile, eyeing the I.D for a second before relaxing in his seat. Berthold was his name. A really tall fellow, but way too shy to actually put to hard work. His ability helped with security, though.

Down the hall, up the elevator to floor 7, round the corner and then through the security door Hanji finally made it to her division, where one of her colleagues had already taken their seat. She skipped on over to her own by the main console, plopped down with a huff and then chewed the last of her donut.

“Good morning Hanji,” Nanaba greeted.

Hanji sent a loose wave over her shoulder, eyes stuck to the screen. “Mornin’.” Her various programs ran continuously through the days and nights, waiting for the tiniest irregularity. Hanji scanned the running script before finally deducing nothing had malfunctioned, she was still quite brilliant, and lifted her cup to take a long sip of coffee.

Hanji paused.

“Hmm, what do we have here?”

She placed the cup down and scooted closer to draw the holographic keyboard close. Behind her the doors whooshed open, allowing two more figures to enter into the room.

“Morning,” Mikasa announced blandly, barely casting a glance before heading over to the nearby fridge for a bottle of water. Behind her was Levi. Hanji managed to catch the deep scowl on Levi’s face before she was distracted by the computer again. It beeped loudly, with an interval of ten seconds before each beep.  Hanji’s heart skipped a beat as Levi dropped down beside her.

“Another one?” Levi asked. She was already pulling up her own programs, sighing softly and studying the data that flew by her eyes.

“Yup,” Hanji agreed. “Picked up down town, in the Maria CBD.”

“Any profile yet?”

“Database is running. Any hits will pop up.”

“How long since the alert?”

“Not long, ‘bout a minute.”

Levi grunted and pushed herself away from the main console to one off to the side, chair wheels smoothing across the clean tile floor. “I think I got something.”

“What is it?” Mikasa asked, making her way over to see what the mild excitement was about. She looked freshly showered, but Hanji could still smell the faint scent of a morning workout on her. Not that it was unpleasant. And not that Hanji sniffed people often. She didn’t.

“In the central business district of Maria, someone tripped our tracker.”

“Name is Historia Reiss,” Levi announced, transferring the document over to Hanji’s screen with a flick of her wrist, then she rolled back towards Hanji. She misjudged the distance and the chair stopped short, so Levi frowned as Mikasa pulled it the rest of the way, grinning in amusement. “Age twenty-two. No family to speak of. Has a bank account. No criminal record. Rents a flat and works at a bar.” She frowned. “I’ve never seen someone with so little information.”

Hanji hummed underneath her breath, drumming her fingers against the desk. She waited for a long second, and then exhaled when a new window popped up with newly acquired security footage. Many more windows of the similar content opened up along the many screens, affording them all with different angles.

“She’s cute,” Mikasa commented.

“She’s a target,” Levi muttered, rolling her eyes. Mikasa sent her a look, but Hanji ignored them.

“I think we should send her an invite, don’t you, ladies?” Hanji suggested, typing away at the keyboard again. “Because from the report that just came in, T.I.T.A.N are already on the move. They must have noticed her when we did.”

Mikasa straightened immediately and Levi released a long breath. “Do we really have to?” she asked warily. “Can’t we send Nanaba?”

From behind them Nanaba snorted. “I’m too tall right now.”

“Is that—” Levi narrowed her eyes. “—a fucking short joke?”

“Yes, yes it is. And no, I can’t go right now. I’m writing up the report of yesterday’s assignment.”

“You heard her,” Hanji added. “She’s busy. Sasha is off today and you’re the last of my team available.”

Mikasa sent Levi a look and the two communicated for a moment. Hanji watched them, once again wondering if perhaps the twins really did have telekinetic abilities. They didn’t really. At least, Hanji wasn’t certain. As far as their abilities went, talking via thoughts wasn’t part of it.

“Fine,” Levi muttered grumpily.

Mikasa smiled like she had won something, and then together the two left the room. Hanji watched them for a moment, and when Nanaba began to chuckle, she swivelled around to dig for more data.

“Well then,” she said. “Time to find out who you really are, Historia Reiss. What little secrets are you hiding?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Most of the story should be in Historia's POV now.

In retrospect, Historia really shouldn’t have saved that kid. Well, of course she _should_ have, but the realization dawned on her now, of what she had done and the implications. To be careful for so many years, only to screw up now, so suddenly? The kid was still across the street, shocked to the point that he was pale but otherwise unharmed. He had run out on the road ahead of Historia, ignoring the cries from his mother to stop. Though the traffic light was red and pedestrians had started to cross, one asshole in a huge truck stomped on, aiming right for the little boy. Historia had acted without thought.

She was close enough, anyway. A mere second in time, Historia had shot out with one hand to push the car out of the way. It didn’t veer off the road, but the driver cursed loudly as his truck was shoved harshly, missing the boy by an inch. It had been too quick for anyone to see, and if they had, they probably decided that Historia had tugged the boy to her, instead of shoving the truck just enough out of the way.

Since she had been a little girl, Historia had been taught to keep herself a secret. She introduced herself as Krista Lenz to most people, pretended to be a pretty little air-head. Who would believe such a ditz could be a demi-human? Historia considered herself more intelligent than most people, though she was questioning that assessment as she slipped from the busy street and into the alleyway. From down the walkway she had seen two large men walking towards her. Casually, not in any hurry, but something in Historia’s gut had said to run. _Run, damn you Historia, run._

 _“Never let them catch you,”_ she remembered her mother telling her, while the woman slowly wasted away. _“They will do to you what they did to me. It wasn’t pretty. Hide who you are, Historia. Tell no one. Make no friends and no lovers. That is the only way.”_

Sucking in a harsh breath, Historia swept a look over her shoulder and cursed when those two men followed her. They wore formal suits, and people would joke that they looked like the men in black, except they probably actually were and Historia sure as hell wasn’t going to stick around to find out. Panicking, she looked around for an escape. Up ahead there was a break in the alley between two buildings, so she took that turn, only to end up staring at a brick wall. Her heart started thumping harder. She had no choice but to go _up_ , and her panic increased when she heard the men’s footsteps echo nearer. Drawing in breath, Historia crouched only slightly. She felt the powerful muscles in her legs pull taut, tensing and ready, and then she shot up into the air, so high that for a moment she was suspended. Then she dropped down onto the roof and grunted at the unsteady landing.

“Fuck me,” she muttered, irritated. She didn’t wait to see what powers those men had, if they could follow her up onto the roof, and darted forward. She jumped from building to building, making sure that no one would accidentally spot a tiny blonde leaping like a human-sized grasshopper. That would definitely entertain headlines for a bit.

Demi-humans weren’t secret. Plenty of them were revered ‘super heroes’. Historia thought that was dumb, but whatever. They put on a spandex suit, called themselves dorky names and saved people. But so many of them had gone missing, too.

After an hour of basically travelling through the city atop the roofs, Historia finally dropped down to ground level. She was in an alley again, but she seemed to be alone. And incredibly late for work, shit. She had completely forgotten about that in her attempt to flee for her life. Shaking, Historia pulled her phone out and dialled her boss. She carefully stepped out of the alleyway, eyed each side for any threat before joining the convulsing throng of moving bodies.

“Historia, where are you?” he barked out after answering, furious. “I need my morning coffee and croissant and there isn’t a damn person here who knows how to speak goddamn English to order something for me.”

Historia rolled her eyes, but she injected as much apology into her voice as she could. “I am so sorry, Mr Ral. Something immediate came up and I had to take care of it.”

“Well, how long until you get here?” he wasn’t at all moved by her explanation, and in fact seemed even more irritated.

“Thirty minutes, tops.”

He grunted, said something demeaning under his breath and then barked into the phone, “hurry the hell up then, Lenz, or you’re fired before you can even blink.” He put the phone down.

“Prick,” Historia growled to herself. A man walking by sent her a shocked expression, reminding Historia that she tended to be a little _too_ rough outside of work, outside of the sweet, gentle façade she had to put on to keep herself hidden. She didn’t like that side of her. She didn’t like that she called people names with her mouth and in her head, that she sometimes fantasized about ripping people in half with her bare hands. She could. Just knowing she could made her anger ease up slightly. No one knew how much power Historia Reiss had, and no one ever would.

Historia took a Taxi back to where she had run from, still careful of those men. They weren’t in the area, so she hurried to the nearby café to get her boss’s goddamn coffee and croissant, like she had been trying to an hour ago. While she was at the counter, the café doors swung open and a strange chill swept over Historia’s neck. She turned slightly in mere curiosity, but her heartrate picked up again. _You have to be shitting me,_ she thought. _More goons after me?_

Two incredibly attractive women had stepped into the café, but they didn’t look like they belonged there at all. They were powerfully built, standing straight, shoulders squared and heads held high. They looked so identical that had the one not worn an undercut, she wouldn’t have been able to distinguish between them. They were scanning the room, looking for someone.

Looking for the freak.

“Miss?” a young boy asked, timid and uncertain. “Your order?”

Historia swallowed. She turned back to him quickly, smiling apologetically. “A mega black coffee please, with a plain croissant.” The boy gave her a strange look, but didn’t ask any questions as he typed at his computer screen. When the order was loaded, he flicked his eyes back to her.

“That’ll be R67, miss.”

Historia handed a R100 note, fingers quivering. The debonair duo were still in the shop, she could feel it, but she didn’t want to look back again and make it obvious. When her order was handed over a minute after, along with her change, she turned stiffly and headed towards the door. The twins were in line, scowling at something. The slightly taller one, the one with longer hair and, when Historia walked by, she noticed a scar on her cheek, was saying something to her twin.

“I can’t stand black coffee,” she muttered in a voice like layered silk. Historia slowed her steps only slightly to listen as she passed by.

“I can’t stand your black soul,” the shorter one snapped, which seemed to amuse her sister greatly, because then she was grinning.

“What do you think, Historia Reiss?” Her smirk in place, the taller twin looked up and into Historia’s wide blue eyes. “That coffee for you, or someone else?”

Historia’s heart nearly stopped. Honestly, she had been hoping that she was just super paranoid. But no. She just had to let her guard down because these twins sounded just as sexy as they looked, and now she was panicking like a child.

“Actually,” Historia started, surprised when her voice didn’t waver. “Oh look at the time, I need to walk my goldfish.” She shoved the coffee and croissant into someone’s arms and then darted for the door. She heard a chuckle behind her, followed by an annoyed sigh.

Historia could barely breathe through her panic.

 _Shit, shit, shit, shit,_ she chanted in her head. This day could not get any worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading ^^ leave me a comment to let me know what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: I changed the 'Beasts' to 'T.I.T.A.N' because Beasts sounded dumb. Enjoy the chapter!

Except yes, yes it could. Her day was steadily turning into the absolute worst of her life.

After running from the café and accepting the fact that she was definitely fired, Historia tried to blend into the rushing crowd. Even though she was short enough, the sexy twins managed to stay close behind her. They didn’t run, though, which made Historia panic even more. Them not running, and seeming so relaxed, meant that they felt they were more than capable of catching her. But she wouldn’t let them. Hell no.

Breath rushing through her lips and her pulse hammering, Historia took a sharp turn into the busy street. She was frantic enough that she didn’t even watch for oncoming cars, so she cried out in surprise when a loud, obnoxious voice singing “Light ‘em up, up, up, I’m on _fiiiiiire,”_ filled her ears, followed then by a loud curse and screeching breaks. Historia’s hands shot out and she stopped the car before it could smash into her, but that in turn created two hand-like craters in the front of the car. She glanced up and into wide, shocked brown eyes, and then she started running again. _I’m sorry,_ she thought. _But mamma has to escape._

She burst onto the sidewalk, ignoring the shocked glances from people that had witnessed her powers earlier and from those indignant that she had shoved them out of the way. Historia ignored all of them. She jumped over a cement bench, and then she was running fast over the expanse of the city park. Dogs and their owners all stopped to gawk. Before she could get very far, Historia’s legs suddenly stopped working. She cried out in surprise, heart squeezing in terror, as she started to float. Every muscle in her body went slack, so much so that she struggled to breathe. From behind her the twins stepped closer, the taller one smirking and the undercut one scowling, though she was the one with her hand risen. So it was her powers.

“Why did you run, Historia?” the taller twin asked. “We aren’t going to hurt you.” Historia tried to speak, but her mouth wouldn’t move. All that came out was a pathetic squeak. “Levi, let up a bit. She can’t speak.”

Levi rolled her eyes, and then Historia dropped to the ground, gasping. She still felt phantom hands on her lower back, and she knew that if she tried to get up and run, Levi would simply lift her up again or drive her into the ground. Levi’s ability was terrifying, whatever it really was.

“Hurry up, Mikasa,” Levi growled. “I haven’t even had breakfast yet.”

Mikasa rolled her eyes. “I told you to eat before we met up with Hanji.”

“And I told _you_ that I’d murder someone if we were sent out so early.”

“Well, Miss Reiss here didn’t give us much of a chance,” Mikasa shot back. “Which isn’t my fault. Stop being so grouchy.”

“I’ll show you grouchy with my fucking foot shoved up your ass.” Historia snorted, earning Levi’s glare. “Do you think this is funny, pipsqueak?”

Historia felt herself balk. “Excuse me? You aren’t much of a lamp post yourself.”

“You little—”

“Stop it,” Mikasa ordered, voice hard. Her grey eyes sharpened, and it seemed to work since Levi sighed and shrugged. “Historia, we aren’t here to hurt you, I promise you.”

“So why are you here?” she asked. “Obviously because you know what I can do.”

“To an extent, yes,” Mikasa agreed. “I’m sure you’re aware of T.I.T.A.N.”

“T.I.T.A.N?”

“They’re a government funded organization tasked with apprehending all ability users for illegal experimentation. They’re trying to weaponize our superhuman genes in order to turn normals into supers. That make any sense?”

Historia dropped her face into the grass, exhaling. “Yup. Been running from them my whole life.”

“Poor you,” Levi muttered. She looked about as interested as a dead fly. Historia couldn’t blame her.

“Well, we aren’t them. Ever heard of H.E.L.D?”

Historia carefully crawled onto her knees, aware that Levi was watching her closely, and that that odd pressure still sat at her back. She inhaled slowly, and then she nodded. “Yes, I have.”

“That’s us.”

Historia’s heart thumped. “Are you serious?”

“Way serious,” Mikasa answered. “We want you to come with us. You set off our tracker, and therefore the T.I.T.A.N’s as well. They will definitely come after you.”

Historia wrapped her arms around herself, but nodded. “I’ve most likely lost my job anyway. What more could I lose?” Her earlier fight had left her. She was dirty from the fall, and she felt defeated and miniscule. Even if these twins weren’t really from H.E.L.D, Historia felt so beaten down that she didn’t care. She gasped softly when long fingers tilted her head upwards, and Mikasa knelt in front of her.

“Historia, we promise we won’t hurt you. I know first-hand how it feels to be hunted your whole life. So please, put a bit of trust in me and you won’t be disappointed.”

Historia stared into Mikasa’s grey eyes, heart thudding. A light blush duster over her cheeks, especially when she couldn’t help herself and glanced down at Mikasa’s lips. She seemed to notice, because Mikasa smirked lightly at her. After thinking on it for a minute, Historia finally nodded.

“Okay. But if you’re lying to me and sell my body or something, I will rip you in half. I actually can.”

Mikasa stood, offering a hand to help her up, and laughed. Even Levi seemed to chuckle, and her cold disposition melted softly. Her ability melted away until it was easy enough to ignore. They wouldn’t let their guard down just yet. Good. Historia enjoyed the fact that they knew exactly how dangerous she could be, despite their abilities.

“Come on,” Mikasa said softly, sweeping her off her feet and ignoring Historia’s cry of surprise. “We don’t have much time before they find us.” She gave Levi a look, and then Levi nodded and placed her hands on both Mikasa and Historia. Before Historia could open her mouth and ask what the fuck they were doing, her world titled and twisted, wind roared painfully over her ears, and then she was set down and she bent over to vomit.

“Happens every time,” Levi sighed, walking away.

Historia felt Mikasa’s hand on her back, grateful for it, and looked up to see that they were in a building. How had they…?

“Levi’s ability is really versatile,” Mikasa explained lowly. “She isn’t a teleporter, but she can teleport.”

“How does that even…?”

“You’ll have to ask her to explain that to you, one day. Come on. Hanji wants to meet you.”

Historia wiped her face, grimacing at her sore muscles and how gross she felt, but followed Mikasa anyway. They strode down a long hallway to double doors, and beyond that was a vast room with computer screens everywhere. At one of them a woman sat, cursing loudly and typing so quickly her fingers were a blur.

“Welcome back, Ackermans,” she said loudly, grinning over to them. When her eyes landed on Historia, her grin widened. “And congrats on a successful hunt!”

Historia’s stomach fluttered in panic at the words, but it melted away when a deep, rich laugh filled the room. “Not funny, Hanji,” the voice said. Historia caught smouldering blue eyes looking her way, and couldn’t help but adjust her clothes slightly. “My name is Nanaba.” She stood from her chair, and then Historia’s eyes widened because holy shit she was _tall._

“K-Krista,” she answered dumbly, staring at Nanaba’s outstretched hand before she finally slapped herself out of it and accepted the handshake. Nanaba’s palm was warm and her grip firm, but Historia’s was even stronger and Nanaba winced in pain. “S-sorry. Super strength.”

Nanaba pulled her hand away, rubbing it tenderly. She chuckled. “No worries. Super strength, huh? Wouldn’t have guessed it. Suits you, though.” She winked, and then she sat back down and continued with whatever it was that she was doing.

Historia stared at her for a little while, kind of star struck—she really had a thing for tall, handsome women. She was brought out of her stupor when Hanji shouted.

“Another one!”

“For fuck sakes,” Levi seethed. “Seriously?”

Mikasa sighed and headed over to the fridge. She pulled out two bottled waters, offering one to Historia. “Want one? You’ll need it.”

Historia accepted the water with a nod. Her head was still spinning. What the fuck was going on?”

“Ackermans, I’ll need you to take this one again, please.”

“Hanji, I swear to god—” Levi snarled, but Mikasa wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“We’ll do it,” she interrupted. “No problem.”

Historia swallowed. “Um, can I go?”

“Historia, you can sit there,” Hanji indicated the couch directly behind Nanaba. Historia obeyed silently and took a seat. This afforded her a lovely, unobstructed view of Nanaba’s blonde hair and her defined jaw. “I’ll get to you in a moment.”

The Ackermans bickered for a moment before Levi grabbed Mikasa’s hand and then they disappeared. Historia scooted over to see the screen, curious at what the commotion was about. She saw security footage on one of the screens, of a bank and an individual wielding fire. There wasn’t any weapon though—the person’s entire arm was on fire. Hanji’s chair was suddenly vacant, too, which made Historia falter.

“So,” Hanji spoke into her ear. “Let’s get down to business, shall we?”

Historia yelped and sat up straight. Somehow Hanji had snuck up right beside her. “U-um, okay.”

“H.E.L.D was founded by a private individual to gather ability users and use them to gather more ability users. In turn we train them and give them the skill they need to enter back into society and take roles such as security and police. By having supers in positions like that, it makes the place a whole lot safer for normals. Do you get what I’m saying?”

Historia nodded her head. “So, what do you need me to do?”

“You, Historia—”

“Please, it’s Krista.”

Hanji’s lifted brow told her that she didn’t believe that, but she conceded. “Alright. Krista, we want to offer you a fulltime position here in H.E.L.D’s field office. We are but a small division of the entire organization. We desperately need more operatives. With your astounding ability, we can really defeat those T.I.T.A.N assholes and save so many lives.”

Historia swallowed. “A job?”

“Yes. We will give you an apartment, a car and a full salary every month. It will be a full on job. You will be expected to report in every day, and to head out on any assignments I give you. Do you think you can do that?”

Historia’s ears were ringing. Somehow she found herself nodding, and then Hanji was pulling her into a tight hug. She saw Nanaba smiling at them, and couldn’t help herself from smiling back.

What the fuck had just happened?


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it for H.E.L.D. It was a really interesting idea when I had it, but I never really had much plot. I've also got many other interesting ideas that I'd rather spend my time on. Hope you enjoy the last chapter!

Historia woke to the light flutter of her curtain, feeling devilishly warm and comfortable in the thick, expensive blankets. She groaned out in delight and stretched her little limbs, really not used to such a soft bed. Her eyes flew open.

“What in the fu—” She caught herself around a swearword, wide blue eyes darting around the unfamiliar room. Panic rolled around in her tummy until she remembered the previous day’s events, and sank back with a sigh of relief. “Oh yeah.”

So she had accepted the offer and signed a really long, really complicated contract. Hanji had insisted that Nanaba sit down with her and go through every single sentence to insure that she knew what she was signing, though Historia would admit that she hadn’t really paid much attention. To Nanaba she had, though. Not to the contract. Now she lay comfortably in her new bed, snug in her now, fully furnished, modern looking apartment. This all felt so weird.

Just the day before she had woken in her dingy flat, depressed and miserable with her life and herself, and had prepared for another monotonous day. She would never have guessed that a split second of using her ability to save some dumb kid would benefit her so much. Well, time would tell if she had sold her soul to the devil or not. She was at a point where even if she had, she didn’t really care anymore.

Hesitantly, Historia climbed out of the bed and explored her new home. She had been so tired after that contract overview that she had searched out the bedroom and then just collapsed upon finding it. The place was… really nice. Simple colours—white and black—and not too much furniture, just enough for two. It made Historia feel a little lonely, but she shoved that aside. She found the bathroom, delighted to see a massive shower. It could fit ten people at most, and it looked way too rigged up to just be a shower.

A little giddy, she undressed and climbed inside, unsure what knob would turn the water on. She messed around with the buttons and screamed when ice cold water suddenly sprayed out from all directions, drenching her. She mashed another button—cracking the tiles around in—and sighed when hot water seeped in.

“Oops.” She stared at the damage, but shrugged it off.

Even the shower was furnished. She found a brand new cloth and sponge, and shower gel that she lathered over her body. Once the soap had washed off, she cleaned her hair quickly and then groped around until the right button switched the water off. She accidentally pressed something else, and noticed with a start that the ceiling had a set of fans that immediately sucked out the moisture and steam in the air.

“Huh.”

She dried herself off with the towel she found on the towel rack, then made her way back to the bedroom. Part of her worried that she had no clothes, until she pulled the cupboard doors open and stared, wide eyed, at the assortment of various outfits that all matched her size exactly. Some of it really wasn’t her style, and she was starting to feel overwhelmed again, so she picked a plain white button up and shorts, and then padded carefully into the open plan kitchen. There was this odd sense that she was intruding, that this was someone else’s home and in no time she would hear a shrill scream of horror and then the distant wail of police sirens. Of course, that never happened. She found the remote for the TV, switched that on just for a little background noise, and then opened the fridge.

“Okay, wow,” she commented softly. It was fully stocked, too. With all kinds of dairy, fruits, meats and vegetables. She grabbed some bacon and eggs, and then fried them up after eventually figuring out how the damn stove worked. When she was finally seated at the kitchen counter, she sighed wearily into her hands, shoulders slumped. This all felt so weird.

Halfway through her meal, a soft beeping caught her attention, and then a holographic screen appeared out of nowhere and she was staring at Hanji’s grinning face.

“Good morning sunshine,” Hanji greeted. “Sorry for answering my own call like this. I figured you wouldn’t know how.”

Historia swallowed her mouthful of bacon. “Um, hello?”

“Breakfast?” She nodded. “Sorry to interrupt, then. When you’re done, please head down to HQ. I’d like to send you out on your first assignment with Nanaba.”

Historia’s eyes widened. “First assignment?”

“You heard me. Chop, chop.” Hanji cackled, and then the screen fizzled out and disappeared. Historia’s ears rang with the sound of Hanji’s voice still. She sat there, dazed and disoriented, and then finished her food and headed for the garage.

“Now, let’s see if they really did give me a car…”

XxX

They had, in fact, actually given her a car. And it had some kind of weird AI thing that startled the shit out of Historia when it greeted her. It took great insult to her silence after that, and she was really relieved to arrive at the H.E.L.D building. Nanaba met her at the entrance, her eyes soft and smile beautiful.

“Sleep alright?” she asked.

Historia sighed. “I feel like I’m in some kind of dream.”

“A good dream?”

“Not really. Like that dream where you’re running, but stuck in one place. Or you’re falling endlessly and screaming.”

Nanaba gave her a sympathetic look. “I can understand. This is all really weird at first. You’ll get the hang of it, though. Don’t stress too much.”

Historia watched the lines of her lips turn up in a smile, and realized that yeah, if Nanaba was there to stare at, she wouldn’t stress too much.

They made it to the correct floor, and HQ looked just as Historia remembered it. Except this time, there was an addition. A figure was sprawled out on the couch in the most uncomfortable position Historia had ever seen, and the person was snoring loudly. From the rounded curves at her chest, Historia assumed it was a woman. Nanaba didn’t seem all that perturbed at the sight of the stranger, but she did send Hanji a look.

“What?” Hanji asked her. “Oh, her? Yeah. They brought her in yesterday, but she’s a stubborn one.”

Nanaba shook her head. “Didn’t want to listen?”

“She set Levi on fire,” Hanji said, snorting. “I had to send the Ackermans home early or they’d have killed her.”

Nanaba laughed with her and then went to her usual desk. Historia hovered awkwardly, not really sure what she was supposed to do. She glanced over at the slumbering stranger, wondering if this was the bank robber she had seen on Hanji’s screen. Had she been here all night? Poor thing.

The snoring stopped abruptly, and before Hanji could utter her next words, the woman sat up, gasping and sputtering. She lifted one arm and it exploded in flames that lapped lazily at her skin.

“I won’t do it!” she roared.

Hanji was up in an instant. “Calm down, Ymir,” she exclaimed, shaking her head. “I already explained the situation to you. Please, put out the fire.”

Historia watched, entranced. Ymir’s skin was dark brown, speckled with freckles everywhere. The light from her fire made shadows dance across her face, highlighting a strong jaw and high cheekbones, and the gorgeous gold of her eyes. When their gazes met, Ymir’s fire sputtered out. Historia felt recognition hit her.

“You!” Ymir roared, faced reddening. “You dented my fucking car with your tiny super hands!”

Historia backed away, flushing. “Um, I’m really sorry about that. I was, well, I was running from them.” She pointed at Hanji, flashing an apologetic smile.

“The car is nothing to worry about anymore,” Hanji assured her. “We will provide an entirely new car to you, Ymir.”

Ymir shot her a glare. “Yeah, sure. Like I’ll believe that. I need to sign some fancy contract, right? You’ll make it sound all sweet and dandy, and then you’ll own my fucking bones. I ain’t buying it.”

Hanji sighed wearily. “Ymir, we could very easily turn you in to the authorities,” she explained. Ymir’s anger seemed to dim into something like panic. “You attempted to rob a bank, Ymir. If not for me, they would have had your face all over the place. But I wiped their security footage, and I sent Levi in to erase any memories of you. We aren’t here to hurt you.”

Ymir tugged her arm, and it was then that Historia noticed that she was handcuffed by the wrist to the couch. “But you’ll use me,” she spat.

Hanji sighed. “I know why you tried to rob that bank.” She stepped closer. “You want to put her in school this year, don’t you? If you work with us, you’ll make good money to do just that. You won’t have to steal anymore to look after her.”

Ymir’s jaws clenched hard. Historia caught the scent of something burning and wrinkled her nose. “Don’t talk about my situation like you know me,” Ymir growled. “Because you don’t.”

Hanji rested against Nanaba’s table, adjusting her glasses. “Ymir, what will you do when Ilse shows signs of the super gene? When she uses her powers for the first time, if she has any? How will you protect her from T.I.T.A.N? We are your best shot. Please, trust me. Do it for her.”

Ymir bared her teeth. “You can’t manipulate me that easily!” But Historia saw the falter in her gaze, the way her clench hands relaxed. She wanted to take this. Whoever Ilse was, she must be really important to Ymir. She was probably just scared.

“It’s okay,” Historia spoke up suddenly, drawing everyone’s attention to her. “I just signed yesterday,” she explained. “T.I.T.A.N was after me, and these guys saved my ass. It all seems farfetched and too good to be true, but they mean it when they say they’ll provide. I went through the contract pretty extensively.” Her eyes flicked towards Nanaba, who grinned at her. “And there didn’t seem to be any catch. They just want to help us. The only condition is that we help normals once we leave this place, if we ever do.”

Ymir regarded her for a long moment. The burning smell increased, and smoke lifted up from her handcuffed arm. It didn’t seem to be melting, though, because she slumped and tugged again. “Fine,” she conceded. “But I want to know _everything_ before I agree. I… my little sister is more important than anything to me.” She set her gaze on Hanji, fierce and threatening. “And if anything happens to her, I’ll cook you to death from the inside.”

Hanji gave her a level, serious glance. “Understood.” She walked over to her, hand outstretched. “Do we have a deal, then?”

Ymir stared at her palm. Eventually she took it, and when they shook hands, the handcuffs disengaged and clattered to the ground. Ymir rubbed at her wrist.

“Now, I was just sending Historia out on her first assignment.” Hanji straightened and grinned over at them. “Why don’t you join them?”

Nanaba, Historia and even Ymir glanced up at Hanji in surprise. Nanaba’s brows furrowed, but she didn’t voice her concerns. When Ymir’s glance met Historia’s, a shiver ran down her spine.

“We expect you to trust us,” Hanji explained. “So I think we need to put our trust in you, as well.” She smiled. “Go out with them, and when you return, we can discuss every single detail. But first…” Hanji pulled her phone from her pocket. After tapping something out, Levi suddenly appeared between them, a little girl in her arms.

“Ilse!” Ymir exclaimed, standing and rushing to take the little girl in a fierce embrace.

“’Mir!” the girl laughed, hugging her back. “Aunty Levi is really nice. And ‘Kasa let me help make pancakes.”

Ymir set her down and inspected every inch of her tiny body. “Ilse, did they hurt you? Where did they take you?”

“We took her to our apartment,” Levi explained, rolling her eyes. “Since you were otherwise tied up.” She snickered at her own joke.

Ilse nodded. “I’m fine, ‘Mir. They didn’t hurt me. I like them. Are we going to stay here?”

Ymir slumped down onto the ground, pulling Ilse into her lap. She just held her for a moment, and then she glanced up and caught Historia’s gaze. It was a gaze of accusation, of pleading and warning. Historia knew that if things went bad, she would be the first on Ymir’s kill list. But she found herself nodding slightly, and Ymir exhaled.

“Yeah, we’ll be staying here, little bean.” Ilse giggled. “Told you I’d make a plan, didn’t I?”

Hanji clapped her hands. “Fantastic! Now, just before you all got here, I received another notification. Can you believe it? Three supers in two days!”

Nanaba stood. “Details?”

Hanji started rattling off the person’s information, gesturing excitedly. But Historia could only look at Ymir. And Ymir was looking at her, too. There was curiosity there, and Historia also caught a hint of attraction. Her stomach fluttered.

This was all truly so weird. But somehow, she felt like it was a good weird. She would stay with H.E.L.D and she would help them. And maybe, somehow, she’d learn to accept herself and live as who she was. She got the sense that Ymir felt the same way, too.

The End. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading this short, sorta crappy story ^^

**Author's Note:**

> like I'm actually super surprised by how many people are voting. It's over 600 votes now in total and honestly I expected like 50 at the most. This warms me. Thanks guys <3


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